Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1887-02-03
A WESTERN TRIP IN 1919
EXTRACTS FROM HESRY HEALD,s
PUBLICATION.
A Cail k'or n Fevoe and
ARuo Not Considered as sscA m..s--
~ hat the state OF Illinois WIN ne
In 1920,

Inc Death OF Jacob Heald recently
CEASED public allusion TO the fact that
he, In company with Henry Heald and
Jasher Dixon, made a trip to Ohio, Indi-
ana, Illinois and Kentucky In 1919, and
that Henry Heald published volume re.
lating to the trip. A copy of this PAM
phlet has been sent to EVERY EVENING by
Mrs. j. O. Seeds, whose father was the
publisher of 1t. IL was printed by j. Will
son, No. l05 Market street, this city, and
It's leaves are yellow with age.
The title is: "a western tour. in n
series Of letters written during journey
through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana,
and into the states of Illinois and Ken.
lucky; giving an account OF the soil,
face OF the country, antiquities and
natural ouriosities, &C." The letters are
addressed Dear Brother" and the first Is
dated McOonnellstown, May Goth, 1919.
The first subject for description is the
Susquehanna bridge at Columbia, Pa,
which was 'tsaid 10 be above e mile in
length and is rooted In from one end TO
the other" The town Of York was then
',about two miles in length from one OK.
treme to the other, In the direction of the
road" From McOonnellstown TO Pitts
bhAB s6tau WpAo bOaAtbt1 luIoB
together In which we did not pass by or
were passed by companies Of pilgrims
with their budgets on their backs, travel
ing TO the land Of promise Sometimes
they would meet companies return
ing who would endeavor to discourage
those who were pressing forward
by representing It, to use their own ex.
pressions, as "the damn'dest country on
the face of the earth.n People were very
much then as they are now in the far
west. For the writer says, "We have
each of us titles and ''pass for doctors.
squires, colonels, &c. For my part, am
the colonel" The traveller to the Rocky
Mountains at the present day is surprised
at the promptness and celebrity with which
he ia dubbed judge or brevetted col.
onel. On the 25th of May the "Coloneln
and his party passed over the ground
where General Braddock was defeated.
The ground had been cultivated for a
number of years, and there was then "a
crop Of oats growing that in many places
has the appearance of being ned
with humsn bones in some places they
are laying thinly scattered, in
others collected into heaps, which
the plows and harrows have lev
eied.n AS to the city of Pittsburg
the child was evidently father to the man.
The writer says: "The first impression
on coming in sight of the town was rather
disagreeable dark cloud Of coal dust
lowering over it, the blackness of the
buildings, and on a near approach the
smell of the stone coal made our entrance
very unpleasant. The city with its sub
mr. iau fo anfA ~ ~, ah 4 Qnn
and upwards of Is, 900 inhabitants Every
house has the appearance of being the
seat of industry, and some of the inhabit-
ants emphatioally call the town the work
shop and warehouse for the western coun-
try Indeed saw but one house that
appeared to be the residence of inactive
wealth, and but one vehicle of pleasure"
This was in 1915, and the local ''boomers"
Of the time did not miss il much.
From Pittsburg the party went to Har-
mony, passing on the way large body of
land called Cranberry Plains. The
traveller gives one letter to description
of the sect of the Harmonyites, who
built the village of Harmony. As an
illustration Of their folly he says 81
was told previous TO my coming here that
their prophet, the Rev. George Rapp,
once gave the men an injunction not to
cohabit with their wives for three years,
under the penalty of divine displeasure
for disobedience, and that there was but
oIie s5iitafy iiiffaotiun Tie iirsi letter
after reaching Ohio is from Oadiz and
speaks of the contour and quality of the
land. From Chilicothe he writes I'm
all the road from PittHburg to this place
have seen but few things to attract the
attention of the curious" He says cline
stone and stone coal are abundant all
over this country, both Of which will be
esteemed as blessing at some future
day, though the former is considered as
an incumbrance at present" "0f all the
land have ever seem" he declares, .'the
Pioksway plains exceed in levelness and
fertility "At Oircleville, in Pickaway
county, we were gratifed with view of
the frsts Indian fort that we had met
with on our route" "The citizens of
this state are divided on the subject
Of call for convention The hard
ness Of the times is made use of by the
champions for the call as an argument
for its immediate adoption-and as the
only means of bringing speedy relief, by
making wholesome regulations in the
judiciary Departmental complaining of its
tsrdiness in the legal collection of, debts.
The opposite party charge the advocates
for the call with the design of altering the
constitution so as to admit of slavery in
the state, which the others confidently
deny. Such is the state of the newspaper
dispute. But that such design
is entertained by some for such
an alteration in the constitution
! know TO be fact from the arguments
have heard in some social circles. One
man in particular, and one of no mean
talents, observed that unless slavery was
admitted into the new states they would
be settled by none but poor people
that enterprising people of wealth and
strength would fiud no inducement to
come here, and the country must Ian
guish for want of proper hands to clear
and cultivate it,"
Leaving the contest for and against a
convention, they crossed the line into
"the Indiana" and from Livonia the
traveller writes to "My dearest Polly"
his wife, relating the following amusing
incident: "The tavern here has but one
room 10 lodge travellers in. Shortly after
we arrived q gentlemen and his wife
called TO get lodging likewise. After the
tea furniture was cleared off travellers
and all seated themselves round the room
in family order and entered into general
discusssion. After concluding the con-
versltion the travelling lady retired
TO her bed with as much oomposure rs 1t
she had been ia her own private
had been in new countries
laaN 4. - ia
with promiscuous undressing scenes;
not so with my young companion, i;
1t was new and novel to him; ne put me
in mind of the fable of the hungry OK be-
tween two hay-stacks; his curiosity ex-
cited him to see whether she was actually
going to bed in presence of the men and
modesty prompted him not to look at
lady undressing; between the two he was
undetermined which way to turn his head
till she got fairly to bed. But this was
only prelude 70 the farce that followed,
A general preparation for bed took place;
the landlady unthougbtfully kept her
seat, waiting to remove the candle when
we all saw ourselves well fixed for our
nights rest. J. got his hat and
shoes off without much difficulty,
but how to get out of his remaining
clothes was an embarrassing considera-
ton; be tried to screen himself behind
the curtains of the bed, in which he got
entangled in pulling off his coat; every
thing conspired together to throw HIM
into confusion, and / verify think that
had the floor opened and dropped him
into the cellar, he would have considered
1t as kind relief from his embarrass-
ment. 1t brought to my mind similar
situation in which was placed, in my
travelling through Georgia, with the aggra-
waited circumstance Of net even q oobweh